Flanker Cam Dolan was a young observer last June when USA Rugby visited BBVA Compass Stadium.

A lot has changed since then.

The 24-year-old earned his first cap for an international start two weeks later, signed his first pro deal with Northampton in December and was named Rugby Magazine's 2013 Breakout Player of the Year.

Now Dolan is an integral part of the U.S. team, which makes its third trip to Houston to play Scotland at 7 p.m. Saturday in an International Rugby Board Rugby World Cup preview match.

"He's an exceptional athlete," U.S. coach Mike Tolkin said. "He's a big wingspan, he's got great agility for a big man (6-6, 238 pounds), he's got pace, and he plays with a chip on his shoulder. He's confident and he takes that confidence into games, and he's not afraid to do things, and that's always big when you're playing on the big stage."

Dolan, who won a collegiate national championship with Life University in Marietta, Ga., last May, is storming the stage now, but he toiled for years to realize his dream, going back to his high school days in Florida.

He came up playing the usual U.S. sports - football, baseball, soccer - but was burned out by his junior year at Estero High School, so he left the football team and spent time away from athletics.

Then a friend asked him to check out rugby, and he was re-energized.

Proving he can do it

Dolan has the body for the brutally physical sport. He's also quick for his size, and he's able to leap high in the air, thanks in part to working with a father who was a high jumper.

More importantly, he was excited by the challenge of learning a sport that doesn't have as much exposure in this country and the opportunity to compete at the national and international levels.

His newly kindled passion helped him battle through torn anterior cruciate ligaments in both knees in college.

"It's a very complex sport," Dolan said.

"Every position is so much different than the other; you need all 15 guys working together as one to be successful. A lot of teams play differently, and you have to adjust to it, and you have to be able to play differently as well, (and) throw a different game plan at one team as opposed to what you throw a team the next week."

Now that he's here, with six caps to his credit and counting, Dolan doesn't want to be anywhere else, and Saturday's showdown with Scotland is another chance for him to prove he belongs.

"Any time you play a test match, you have to approach it diligently," Dolan said. "We're all competitive by nature, so obviously we want to win every time we step on the field. But you have to treat it like any other game - come out firing, and you've got 80-plus minutes to leave it all out there."

Plenty of support

The Eagles need to pressure Scotland, match its physicality and use the elements to their advantage Saturday.

If they do, they'll have a shot at their first win in three trips to Houston, where they set a record for the highest-attended rugby match on U.S. soil last year, with 20,181 fans turning out for Ireland.

"The Houston area has been extremely supportive in getting the fans out, spreading the word (and) making us feel at home, so the crowd has been great and we'd love to deliver a win for everything that they've put in to support us," Tolkin said.